This invention relates to a semiconductor laser capable of emitting, for example, blue to green light.
In recent years, there is a demand for semiconductor lasers capable of emitting light with short wavelengths for improving recording densities of optical disks or resolutions of laser printers, and vigorous studies have been made for realization of such lasers.
II-VI compound semiconductors are hopeful as materials to be used for fabricating such semiconductor lasers capable of emitting light with short wavelengths. In particular, ZnMgSSe compound semiconductors, which are quaternary II-VI compound semiconductors, are recognized to be suitable as materials of cladding layers and optical waveguide layers required to make on a GaAs substrate a semiconductor laser for emitting blue to green light in the band of wavelengths of 400 nm .about.500 nm (see, for example, Electron. Lett. 28 (1992) 1798).
As to semiconductor lasers using II-VI compound semiconductors, active studies have been made to realize oscillation at the room temperature. As a result, the present Applicant has succeeded in pulse oscillation at the room temperature by a semiconductor laser using ZnMgSSe compound semiconductors referred to above.
As to continuous oscillation at the room temperature, however, there has been no report either with a semiconductor laser using ZnMgSSe compound semiconductors mentioned above or with a semiconductor laser using II-VI compound semiconductors other than ZnMgSSe compound semiconductors.